Rocket
by bewdifuldragon
Summary: Mokuba takes on a life-or-death space mission, and there are no two people he'd rather have by his side. Not as serious as it sounds.


**I've had this idea in my head for a while now, but I haven't really had the inclination to write it down. Then I heard that it was my good pal Serial's birthday and I figured WHY NOT. So, happy birthday my nerdling! This was in part inspired by that scene from the Princess Diaries 2, and in part by the fact that I've never had stairs in my house, but I've kind of always wanted them. Once again, there is no special reason why Noah's alive or anything, nor is there any actual plot or proper length to this fic at all. I just really love these brothers and I want them to be happy, so let me live!**

* * *

"Blueberry to Green Apple, Blueberry to Green Apple, we are running out of time! I _must_ launch now, or the meteorite will be too close to the earth to obliterate! Over!"

Noah held the walkie-talkie to his mouth, and clicked the button to speak. "Blueberry, this is Green Apple – you have to listen to me! The sequence is wonky! You mustn't launch – the rocket will burn up in the atmosphere and you will die! _Please_! I'm asking you, not as your fellow officer, but as your brother, to not do this!"

Mokuba looked out the window of his "rocket" and smiled down at Noah. "If I do it right, I'll be able to take the meteor out with me. Listen, bro; this is all for the good of mankind. I _have_ to do this!"

"Then let me come with you!" Noah insisted, squeezing his walkie-talkie. "Please. You're my brother, I can't let you do this alone!"

"Listen to me, Noah." Mokuba spoke calmly, softly; easing his words in between broken sobs from the speaker. "You know I love you far too much to let that happen. Besides, Earth still needs you. You're the one who got this technology up and running in the first place. All I ask is that you remember me. Plant a tree in my honour. Name your first-born child after me. Erect a statue in Tokyo-"

"You're pushing your luck," Noah said flatly, though it was clear he was teasing.

"Right!" Mokuba snapped to attention and tapped his helmet. "This is it! Time to save the Earth!"

"No!" While Mokuba dialled in the sequence on his cardboard control pad, Noah screamed his brother's name, holding out a hand as though his will alone could stop him. "Don't do this!"

"I must!"

"MOKUBAAA-!"

"What's all the noise? I'm trying to work."

Mokuba and Noah both froze in place, turning their attention to the doorway where Seto stood, eyeing the setup before him with confusion. At the top of the grand staircase was Mokuba; settled comfortable upon a precariously balanced mattress with cardboard taped to it. He wore a bicycle helmet and tin foil wrapped around various parts of his body to resemble a scape suit.

At the bottom was Noah, wearing an oversized "uniform" – which was really one of Seto's suit jackets the two had commandeered – and also a giant pile of what looked to be every pillow and cushion in the Kaiba household to ensure a secure landing for the pilot of the mattress-rocket.

The younger two exchanged looks, before Mokuba took it upon himself to answer. "Well, you see, there's a meteorite making its way to Earth. And after the alien invasion we fought off, there aren't enough weapons left to destroy it from the ground. So we were going to file a missile from the rocket but the spy in our ranks has disarmed it, which leaves me with no other choice besides flying directly at it and hoping the impact will weaken it enough to break it apart _before_ it wipes out life as we know it."

When Mokuba spoke, he did so seriously, as though this really _was_ a life-or-death situation. And so, when Seto replied, he, too, was 100% serious. "I can't believe this. Something so childish and thoughtless going on under my roof." And then, when it seemed he was actually annoyed by the game itself – "You know, if you increased the shield's density, you can target the asteroid at its weakest point and damage it without risking your life. From there, all it'd take is a simple laser beam to break it apart. No one has to die."

Noah and Mokuba both lit up. "Of course!" they declared in unison. Mokuba hopped out of his rocket and bounded down the stairs, taking his brothers by a hand each. "But such a mission would require three people: one to fly the rocket, one to work the laser, and one to do the calculations and make sure the mission is progressing. If I'm gonna risk my life to save the Earth, I can't think of two people I'd rather have by my side."

As Mokuba lead the two up the staircase, Seto mumbled something about making it quick, because he had a meeting later, but the remark went ignored. The younger settled again in his spot on the mattress; Noah sat behind him and Seto brought up the rear.

"Care to count us down, Captain Mokuba?" Noah offered.

"Captain," Mokuba repeated proudly. "I like it. Okay! 10, 9, 8…"

He continued the countdown right until blastoff, and on the very word, Seto kicked off, using his foot to propel the mattress down the stairs before climbing aboard himself. Mokuba threw his hands up in the air like he was on a rollercoaster and cheered, and Noah followed suit, laughing happily at the game. Seto remained poised, ready to grab his siblings should the mattress tilt or the game otherwise go haywire; but even so, there was a bare hint of a smile on his face. Even he couldn't deny he was having a good time.

It was a matter of seconds before the mattress's descent levelled out, and it slid a few feet across the floor, barrelling right into the barrier the boys had set up before. The stop was so sudden that all three brothers were thrown forward, and landed somewhere in the pile of pillows. Seto was the first to sit up, and looked over to see Mokuba and Noah laughing hysterically.

"I'd say the mission was a success, Captain!" Noah gasped out when he was finally able to speak again.

"You can say that again!" his baby brother agreed.

"Alright: I'd say the mission-"

"Not literally, you dummy!" Mokuba grabbed a pillow and whacked Noah with it; but the boy was ready, and fought him off with a counterattack. They battled with all cushions handy, and at some point, Seto was dragged into the brawl too. He quickly forgot about the meeting he'd mentioned only a minute or two ago, totally wrapped up in their brotherly roughhousing. And it was when Mokuba had "wrestled" his brothers to the ground – or rather, when they'd let him do it – that he happily declared, "You guys, I think there's another meteorite coming to Earth! Quick – let's set up the rocket again!"


End file.
